


Tenth Time Lucky

by Eggling



Category: Doctor Who, Doctor Who (1963)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-15
Updated: 2018-02-15
Packaged: 2019-03-19 00:12:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,238
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13692756
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Eggling/pseuds/Eggling
Summary: It takes Jamie a few tries to confess his love for the Doctor.





	Tenth Time Lucky

**Author's Note:**

> for [ettelwenailinon](http://ettelwenailinon.tumblr.com).

“Doctor?”

“Mm?” The Doctor glanced briefly up at Jamie, but his eyes were quickly drawn back down to the console by its flashing lights.

_There’s no point in telling him_ , Jamie thought. _He barely even notices I’m here. There’s no way he could like me back._ But the fact of the matter was that Polly had told him to confess his feelings to the Doctor, and he did not want her to think he was too afraid to do it. He had promised to go through with this, and he would.

At length, the Doctor looked up at him properly. “Were you wanting something?” he asked.

“Aye,” Jamie said, startled by his sudden attention. He stared at the Doctor for a moment, gathering his thoughts and resolve, then stepped forwards and took a deep breath. “Aye, I wanted tae tell ye something.”

“Oh.” The Doctor bustled around the console, frowning. “Are you feeling alright, Jamie? I _had_ meant to ask if you were settling in well enough, but we’ve been so frightfully busy -”

“It’s no’ a bad thing,” Jamie said. “Well – maybe it is, but not in the way ye think – och, I’m no good at this.”

The Doctor’s shoulders slumped. “You want to leave us.”

“No!” Jamie exclaimed. He winced, realising how desperate he had sounded. “No,” he repeated more gently. “But ye might want me tae leave, after I’ve told ye.”

“I can’t imagine that anything you might have to say would make me want you to leave,” the Doctor said, chuckling. “I’ve grown rather used to having you around, you know.”

His words made Jamie hesitate. Was honesty really worth risking their growing friendship for? The confidence Polly had drilled into him was leaking away, replaced by guilt for wanting more than the Doctor could give. But she had seemed so sure that the Doctor would not reject him…

Before he could make up his mind, the TARDIS clunked, sending the Doctor hurrying away around the console again, flicking switches and pressing buttons. “We’re landing,” he announced.

Ben and Polly hurried into the console room, shrugging on their jackets. “Where are we?” Ben asked eagerly.

“Home?” Polly suggested.

“No, I very much doubt that,” the Doctor said. “The environmental readings are all off, it’s too cold. We’ll need coats.” He turned back to Jamie, pulling him aside. “What was it you wanted to tell me?” he asked quietly.

Jamie knew the moment had been broken. Ben had left to fetch their coats, but Polly was still standing there, watching them closely. “It doesnae matter,” he said, smiling reassuringly at the Doctor. “Really.”

“Are you sure?” The Doctor was frowning at him again. “It did seem quite serious.”

Jamie shook his head. “Ye dinnae need tae know.”

* * *

The Doctor seemed oddly vulnerable when he slept, Jamie thought. His coat lay discarded on the floor, and he was surprisingly slight without it. Somewhere along the way, he had managed to get his head into Jamie’s lap.

Ben and Polly had long since gone to bed, but Jamie had decided to stay in the library, unwilling to move and disturb the Doctor. He found himself lulled into a half-doze by the peace of it all – the soft sounds still playing from the screen he could not turn off, the dimmed lights, and the Doctor stretched out on the sofa beside him. Even the Doctor’s snoring felt comfortably familiar, he thought, a smile tugging at the corner of his lips.

“Are ye really asleep?” he asked softly. The Doctor snorted, rolling over a little, but did not respond. “Aye, thought so. It’s cute, ye know.”

He glanced up towards the door, his cheeks reddening, but the corridor outside was quiet. Nobody was around to hear. There was something freeing in being able to say things he would never otherwise dare say to the Doctor, but he hesitated. What if the Doctor should wake and hear something?

“Ye didnae really want me tae come just so I could teach ye the bagpipes, did ye?” he tried. When the Doctor remained still, he pressed on. “Heaven knows why ye asked me. Maybe ye just liked me. That’d be nice.”

“You alright, mate?” It was Ben. Jamie ducked his head away, hoping that the half-light had concealed his blush.

“Fine,” he called back. “He’s still asleep.”

“Alright,” Ben said. “Me and Polly are just going to bed. If you wanted anything, you know.”

“We’re alright.” The door closed with a click, and Jamie turned his attention back to the Doctor. Now he had started talking to him, he did not think he would be able to stop. “I wish you’d tell me what ye were thinking more often, when ye go rushing off into danger. I wish you’d tell me even when we’re not in danger. Sometimes I wonder what you’re thinkin’ about, when you’re staring at me.” His heart was pounding now. “Sometimes – ye look at me, and I think there could be something there, an’ I think about telling ye, but that can’t be right, can it?” He smoothed the Doctor’s hair off his forehead. “I love ye.”

“Mmph.” Of course the Doctor would wake now, Jamie thought. “Jamie? Did the movie finish?”

“Aye, it did.” Jamie fought to hide the note of tenderness in his voice, but to his relief the Doctor seemed to sleepy to notice anything.

“Were you saying something?” he asked. “I thought I could hear your voice.”

For a moment, Jamie considered telling the Doctor the truth. He had to confess his feelings sooner or later, he reasoned. He could not go on like this, craving this closeness even as the shame of it was eating him alive. “Maybe ye were dreaming,” was all he said.

“Mm. Probably.” The Doctor rolled over, pressing his face against Jamie’s stomach. “G’night, Jamie.”

Jamie closed his eyes, cursing his own lack of nerve. “’Night, Doctor.”

* * *

Polly nudged Jamie’s side. “Where’d he get the money for the tickets?”

“Och, don’t ask me.” Jamie turned to the Doctor. “Hey. Hey, Doctor. Where -” The Doctor shifted against his shoulder, letting out a loud snore, and Jamie grinned at Polly. “I think he’s avoiding the question.”

“Does it matter?” Ben put in. “At least we don’t have to walk all the way back to the TARDIS.”

“That’s true.” Polly stood up, catching Ben’s sleeve as she went and pulling him up with her. “The cafe’s meant to be fantastic. Want some hot chocolate, Jamie?”

“Aye, please.” Jamie turned back to the window, watching the green fields outside rush by. “Bring some extra sugar for the Doctor’s, would ye?”

“Alright.”

The moment the door slammed closed behind Polly and Ben, the Doctor was stirring, sitting upright and rubbing at his eyes. Anyone else might have been fooled into thinking he really had been asleep, but Jamie knew the Doctor better than that. “It’s alright, they’re gone,” he said. “Where did ye get that money from?”

“Found it in the gutter,” the Doctor said cheerfully. Jamie frowned at him, sensing the lie. “How do you like hoverbus travel, Jamie?”

“I don’t know. It’s fast.” Jamie looked away from the window. “Too fast, I think.”

The Doctor touched his arm, his eyes soft with concern. “Are you feeling alright?”

“I’ve felt better,” Jamie admitted. “I’ll be alright. Ye said it’s only an hour.”

“Yes, that’s right.” Stretching, the Doctor stood up to press a few buttons on the wall. “There, the air conditioning’s on. That should make you feel better.”

“Thanks.” The Doctor was looking at him in that funny way of his, Jamie realised. Once again, he wished he could understand what the Doctor meant by it. “And – thanks for earlier, too.”

“I was hardly going to leave you to fight off the Architrov yourself, now, was I?” The Doctor settled back down beside Jamie. “Nasty creatures. Usually I prefer to see the good in everything, but there’s some things – like the Cybermen – which make that particularly difficult. Architrovs are another thing like that. No, I wouldn’t wish one upon my worst enemy, Jamie.”

Jamie nodded, staring down at his lap. The memory of the incident would not leave his mind. Over and over again, he saw the Doctor’s raw terror as the beast made a run at him, his desperate, frenzied shouts to distract it, the way he had reached for him when they were safe again. A deep, long-buried part of him wondered whether for a few precious moments, he had caught a glimpse of the Doctor’s true feelings.

“I -” He laughed, realising that the Doctor had opened his mouth to speak at the same time. “Ye go on.”

“No, no, you – oh, alright.” The Doctor seemed almost reluctant to speak. “You should know, Jamie, I -”

Polly elbowed the door opened, her hands occupied by a tray of elaborate porcelain cups. “Here we are,” she said, setting the tray down on the table. “One for each of us – and extra sugar for you, Doctor.”

“Oh, how kind.” The Doctor pulled his cup towards him, wrapping his hands around it. “Mm. Careful, Jamie, it’s hot.”

“Aye, I know, I know.” The Doctor cast a pointed look at Jamie, who nodded back, understanding that the moment had passed. Whatever they might have said to each other was lost.

* * *

“Now, we just need to wait for the signal...” The Doctor pulled Jamie into an alcove. “In here will do nicely.”

“Here?” Jamie said dubiously. They were pressed together, chest to chest, and the dust was tickling his nose. Surely they had time to find a better hiding place than this. “Doctor, we won’t even see the signal from in here.”

“Nonsense.” The Doctor tapped the band around his wrist. “This ought to light up when it happens. We’ll be away with plenty of time to spare.”

“I still dinnae think this is a good idea,” Jamie said. “They’re going tae be running through the corridor.”

“Yes.”

“Right next to us.”

“Ye-es.” The Doctor quickly masked his concern. “It’ll be quite fine, Jamie, you’ll see. Rhyblaids don’t have the best vision.”

“If ye say so.” Jamie shuffled over a little, retreating further into the shadows and settling against a ledge. Another moment’s fiddling revealed a flap in the wall, and he flicked it idly.

The Doctor leant out into the corridor, looking both ways before leaning back towards Jamie. “Don’t do that!” he hissed, pushing Jamie’s hands away from the flap. “You’ll open the window, they’ll see us.”

Jamie was tempted to point out that they were hardly hidden as it was, but swallowed his retort. “How long have we got?” he asked instead.

“Oh – ah...” The Doctor frowned at his wristband. “One or two minutes. Watch out, here they come.”

He squeezed himself onto the ledge, all but sitting in Jamie’s lap. Fighting the urge to push him away, Jamie tried to focus all his attention on the Rhyblaids rushing down the corridor. _Don’t put your arm around him_ , he told himself sternly. _Don’t think about pulling him closer. Don’t you dare think this is_ nice.

“Doctor?” he said softly.

The Doctor glared at him, eyes shining eerily out of the darkness. “Is it important?” he murmured.

“Aye, I suppose so.” He might as well say it, Jamie thought. The Doctor was about to get them both killed. “I have tae tell ye something.”

“Now?” the Doctor whispered. “Can’t it wait?”

“No’ really -” The Doctor’s wristband lit up, and Jamie ducked his head away, squeezing his eyes shut. “Can’t ye turn that thing off?”

“Oh – oh, dear, it’s come too early -” The Doctor whacked his wristband. “Oh, my word. Do you remember where they said the off switch was?”

“Aye, it’s -” Jamie fumbled to get a hold of the Doctor’s wrist, almost pushing him over in his panic. “No, no, the other side, turn your hand around -”

“Too late!” One of the Rhyblaids had broken rank and was approaching the alcove. Jamie pressed the Doctor’s hand into his lap, hiding the light. Undeterred, the Rhyblaid poked his halberd into the alcove. The Doctor and Jamie leant back, avoiding the blade, but it was quickly removed, and they relaxed.

“That was too close,” Jamie hissed. “Is the light gone?” The Rhyblaid had slid back into their ranks, and none of the others seemed to have noticed anything suspicious.

“Y – yes.” The Doctor prised his hand out of Jamie’s grip, shaking his head. “Yes, the light won’t be a problem, but -” He drew his head back – closed his eyes – and sneezed.

The Rhyblaid regiment paused and turned towards the alcove as one. Jamie closed his eyes in resignation. “What do we do now?”

“Well, I’m afraid I wasn’t entirely honest about why I wanted to hide here. There is another way out.” The Doctor stood up and slid back a panel on the wall, revealing a ladder. “After you.”

* * *

“You really ought to just tell him,” Polly said. Jamie groaned, slumping face first onto the table. She said it so simply, as if it would be the easiest thing in the world to walk up to the Doctor and confess his love to him.

“I’ve tried,” he mumbled. “Every time I work up the nerve to say something, we get interrupted.”

“Maybe you’re just picking the wrong moment,” Polly said comfortingly. “Just… tell him in a quiet moment, when we’re not in danger and he can’t wander off. What could go wrong?”

“But then he’d be _lookin’_ at me,” Jamie complained. “Do ye really think I could just… look him in the eye and tell him that?” He snorted. “He’d throw me out of the TARDIS on the spot.”

“Of course he wouldn’t. He likes you back, Jamie, I know he does.”

“Has he told ye so?”

“Well, not exactly, but I’ve seen how he looks at you.”

“Wishful thinking.” Jamie shook his head. “Och, I don’t even know why I tried. He wouldn’t want to be with someone like me. I’m no’ even sure he wants tae be with anyone at all, he never looks at anyone like that.”

“You don’t see him looking at anyone because you can’t accept he’s looking at you,” Polly said. “It’s nothing to be ashamed of, you know.”

“I’m no’ ashamed because he’s a man, it’s because...” Jamie shrugged. “He’s the Doctor. How could I expect that of him?”

“You’re impossible,” Polly retorted. “I’m trying to talk you into this, and you manage to talk yourself _out_ of it.”

“I don’t see you falling over yourself tae tell Ben you’re in love with him.”

“Shush.” Idly twirling her spoon around in her mug, Polly leant her head on her free hand, staring wistfully out the door. “I wish it was simpler to tell them, don’t you?”

“Tell us what?” The Doctor poked his head into the kitchen. Startled, Jamie leapt upright, almost knocking over his mug in his panic.

“Nothin’, really,” he said, ignoring Polly frantically kicking him under the table. “Just talking about Ben.” The furious look Polly gave him could almost have melted him on the spot.

“Oh?” The Doctor wandered across the room, helping himself to tea.

“An’ how Polly’s in love with him.” The kick he received for that made Jamie’s eyes water, but he was grinning. “And won’t tell him that.”

“Oh, dear.” The Doctor patted Polly’s arm comfortingly. “Why don’t you tell him, Polly, dear? I’m sure he wouldn’t turn you down.”

“He’s just so oblivious,” Polly said, casting a brief smirk at Jamie. “It’s maddening.”

Jamie could have screamed with frustration at the Doctor’s understanding expression.

* * *

If he did not know better, Jamie would have said the Doctor had done it on purpose. The beach, the gently setting sun, Ben and Polly conveniently packed off to a nearby amusement park – it would have seemed perfectly romantic, save for the fact that the Doctor had been completely innocent about it. He had simply declared that they deserved some time off, and decided to spend his day lounging around on the beach. The fact that Jamie had spent most of the time sitting next to him made very little difference, or so Jamie tried to tell himself.

“Are you sure you wouldn’t rather be with Ben and Polly?” the Doctor asked, for what felt like the hundredth time. “I’m sure they’d welcome your company.”

“Are ye trying tae get rid of me?” Jamie replied, only half teasing. A part of him settled when the Doctor smiled and shook his head. “I didnae really fancy the place.”

“Suit yourself.” The Doctor settled back against his tree, closing his book. “Personally, I find amusement parks rather entertaining, but this has been pleasant too. Perhaps I’ll take you there tomorrow.”

“Are we staying, then?” Jamie could not say he was complaining. “I thought you’d be mad with boredom by now.”

“I’ll see how I feel in the morning.” Gasping, the Doctor pointed out to sea. “Look, Jamie! Flying rays!”

“What?” Following the Doctor’s gaze across the ocean, Jamie caught sight of the object of his excitement. A pod of strange creatures were leaping their way through the waves, gleaming pink and green and deep, rich gold in the sunset light. They looked like great swaths of fabric, caught by the wind and cast across the sea, and Jamie smiled at the image – but there was a kind of otherworldly beauty in them, too. The Doctor was watching them with an expression of pure bliss and awe, leaning forwards as if he too wished to be caught by the air, swept out to join the rays.

“They’re almost transparent at any other time of day,” he explained, breathless with wonder. “They live amongst the ruins of this planet’s most ancient civilisation. Some say they’re ghosts. But at sunset, they come up to the surface to dance, and the sun gives them their colours. I’ve always wanted to see them.”

“They’re beautiful,” Jamie said softly, still looking at the Doctor. “See, it was worth me staying, tae see this.” The Doctor was still gazing out to sea, his heart briefly lost to the rays. “Doctor?”

“Mm?” A shadowy cloud was drifting across the sun. One by one, the rays slipped back beneath the surface, fading away to become ghosts again. Almost before Jamie had registered the rumble of thunder, rain began to fall, and the Doctor looked away from the sea, broken out of his spell. “Oh, dear.” He reached into his pocket, pulling out his umbrella. “Not quite as picturesque as it seemed, hm?”

“I dinnae mind.” Jamie huddled closer to the Doctor, trying to stay dry. A thousand different things to say were racing through his mind. _I love you, I think you’re beautiful, I’m sorry, I thought you ought to know, I’ll leave if you want me to, are you really looking at me like that? Is there a chance in a thousand you could love me too?_ “Thank ye,” he said at last, hugging the Doctor.

“For getting you soaked?” the Doctor asked, returning the hug a little bemusedly.

“I’m no’ that wet.” Jamie rested his head against the Doctor’s arm. “No, I meant – for showing me something beautiful.”

* * *

“I think the TARDIS is just over one of those hills.” Polly sat down heavily on the snowdrift, wrapping her arms around herself. “ _Brr_. And here I was thinking it couldn’t get any colder. How’s the Doctor doing?”

Setting the Doctor down gently, Jamie pulled off one of his gloves to feel the Doctor’s cheek. “Freezing,” he said. “But I think he’ll make it. We just have tae keep going.”

Polly squeezed her eyes shut. Jamie wondered if she was crying, the tears freezing on her cheeks, indistinguishable from the snow and frost in her hair. “Can’t we rest here for a bit? Dig out a hole in the snow and shelter, or something like that?”

“Its not far,” Ben said, wrapping his arms around her. “If we wait we’ll just be colder for longer.”

“I could carry the Doctor back on my own,” Jamie suggested. “Ye could follow later, if Polly isn’t feeling up to it.”

“I’m fine,” Polly choked out. “You’re right, the Doctor ought to come first. And I’m not letting you get lost out there on your own.”

“She’s right, mate,” Ben said. “We ought to stick together.”

“Aye, right.” Jamie hesitated, then pulled off his coat and wrapped it around the Doctor. The wind was biting, but the Doctor needed it more. “Shall we go?”

“Yeah, alright.” Helping Polly up, Ben pulled her over the rise. “I can’t see the TARDIS. I think I recognise that rock, though, it must be over the next hill.” He jogged down the slope, leaving Polly to pick her way down after him.

Jamie went to heft the Doctor onto his back and follow, but he was stirring beneath his hands. “Doctor!” He shook him gently, rubbing his hands in an effort to warm him up. “Are ye a wee bit warmer now?”

“Mm.” The Doctor did not open his eyes. “Jamie.”

“Aye, I’m right here.” He was slipping away again. Desperately, Jamie shook his shoulders, but no response came. “Doctor! We’re going tae get ye home, I promise.” Still the Doctor did not move. Glancing up at the top of the snowbank and finding it deserted, Jamie risked pressing a brief kiss to the Doctor’s forehead. “I’m going tae get ye home safe.” The unspoken _I love you_ seemed so loud that he was surprised the Doctor did not wake.

“Come on, Jamie!” Ben’s voice was almost whipped away by the wind. “I think I can see the TARDIS! It’s half buried in snow, though, we’re going to have to dig it out.”

“Aye, right.” Lifting the Doctor onto his shoulders, Jamie stepped onto the snow bank. He slipped a little at first, but managed to put one foot after another until he was back into his mechanical, frozen rhythm. “We’re on our way.”

* * *

“I’m sorry to leave you here like this, Jamie.” The Doctor did not look sorry, Jamie thought. He looked businesslike and eager, leaping at this fresh challenge. “But someone has to hold down the fort at this end, you know.”

“Why me, though?” Jamie glanced around at the panels of buttons surrounding him. “I dinnae know what to do if something goes wrong.”

“Don’t worry about any of that,” the Doctor said. “There’s only one button you need to remember.” He tapped at a large, flashing red one in the centre of the main panel. “Press it, and it turns green and switches on the link to us. If anything goes wrong, I’ll guide you through fixing it. Not that anything will go wrong,” he added hastily. “Everything’s perfectly under control.”

If everything was under control, they would not be setting out for the sister space station, Jamie thought grimly. He was sure there was something the Doctor was refusing to tell them. “What sort of things could go wrong?” he asked nervously.

“Oh, you know. Minor technical faults, instrument failures.” The Doctor twisted his hands together, hesitating. “Reactor leaks.”

“Reactor leaks?” Jamie exclaimed. “Doctor – that doesnae sound like nothing.”

“There’s a very low likelihood of a reactor leak,” the Doctor said soothingly. “If something goes wrong, it’s much more likely to happen on our end.”

“Do Ben and Polly know?”

“I wouldn’t take them out there without telling them the risks.” Jamie nodded. “And I’m doing the same for you now. Promise that you’ll trust me in this.”

“With my life.” The airlock clunked as if something had collided with it, and Jamie flinched away from the sound. “Doctor -”

“That’ll be the ship. I have to go.” The Doctor swept him into a brief hug, burying his face in Jamie’s hair for a moment. “If we don’t come back -”

“Don’t say that.” The Doctor opened his mouth to speak again, but Jamie pressed a finger to his lips. “I know what to do. But you’re going to come back, aye? So I won’t have tae do it.”

“We’re going to come back.” The Doctor nodded, as if trying to convince himself of that fact. “Quite right. Keep thinking like that, Jamie.”

“Doctor – no -” The airlock opened, and the Doctor turned towards it, torn between Jamie and the ship.

“Everything will be fine,” he said, as if he thought Jamie was asking for reassurance. “I really do have to go -”

“Go on.” Jamie pushed him towards the airlock gently. “Catch your ship.” The airlock slammed shut barely moments after the Doctor ducked under it, leaving him standing alone in the control room. “I love ye.” The whisper sounded pitifully small in the space station’s great, silent, echoing expanse.

* * *

“Doctor -”

“Nearly there, Jamie, nearly there -”

“I can’t hold them!”

“You must!”

Jamie dodged away from a pulse, ducking back behind his pile of debris. It went wide, colliding with one of the control panels. The Doctor leapt away from it with a shout of alarm, shaking his hand as if burnt. “Are ye alright?”

“Yes, I think so.” The Doctor examined the smoking remains of the panel. “Oh, dear. This does make things more difficult.”

“Can ye still pull up in time?”

“Yes, I’ll just have to -” The Doctor pulled a lever into position, groaning and scrunching his face up with the effort of it. “Change tactics, that’s all. Watch out, here comes another one.”

Jamie stuck his blaster above the rubble barrier, firing off a few shots at random. The first two collided with the metal of the corridor, ricocheting off the walls and fizzling out, but the third struck the pirate square in the chest, sending him toppling over. “Taken care of,” he said. “How much longer, Doctor?”

“Just a few minutes.” The ship ducked and swerved madly, throwing Jamie against the wall. The Doctor chuckled nervously. “I, ah, seem to have found the steering controls. That’s something.”

A fresh barrage of blaster shots sent Jamie crawling back behind the barrier, pressing his hands over his ears. “I really can’t hold them, Doctor,” he called. “There’s too many.”

“I think I’ve found a door locking mechanism.” The ship rolled over, and the door to the cockpit stated to edge downwards alarmingly quickly, grinding and squeaking as it went. “Oh, dear! Quick, Jamie, inside.”

Casting a glance back at the pirates, Jamie dove through the doorway. The pirates fired after him, and sparks sprayed around his ankles as the energy pulses exploded on the floor. To his relief, the door squeaked shut before they could reload, and he allowed the Doctor to pull him upright. “That was close,” he said, grinning at the Doctor.

“It should be simpler now I can concentrate,” the Doctor said. “I think I can steer the thing, I just have to slow down and get it to the main ship -”

“And hope Ben and Polly have convinced them that we really do have pirates on board,” Jamie finished, nodding. “Do ye think they’ve managed it?”

“I don’t see why not. Here, hold on.” The Doctor pulled a lever, making the ship roll over. “That should shake them up a bit.”

Jamie turned away from the front window, feeling his stomach churning, but clutched at the Doctor’s sleeve when he caught sight of the door. It was glowing red hot, and flames were already licking through a small hole. “Doctor, they’re trying tae break it down!”

“Yes, Jamie, I know.” The Doctor made the ship shake from side to side again, smiling when he heard the pirates shout in alarm. “But it’ll take them a while.”

Jamie nodded. “Doctor, I -” He swallowed, gathered his resolve, and looked the Doctor in the eyes. “I might never get another chance to say this -”

The look on the Doctor’s face silenced him. “I know,” he said gently. “But I don’t think now’s really the time, do you? I’d rather save it for when we’re not fighting for our lives.”

“Aye.” Jamie nodded, feeling a little light-headed at the prospect. “Aye, you’re right.”

* * *

“Doctor?” Tentatively, Jamie stepped into the console room. He had spent most of the previous evening avoiding the Doctor, too embarrassed to face him, but now found himself possessed by an unexpected eagerness to get it over and done with. “I want tae talk to ye.”

To his surprise, he found his own apprehension mirrored on the Doctor’s face. “Yes, I’ve been wanting to speak with you too, Jamie.”

They stared at each other for a moment, neither of them wanting to start. “I -” Jamie laughed, realising the Doctor had spoken at the same time. “Ye go first.”

“No, no – oh very well.” The Doctor’s fingers tapped out a nervous rhythm on the edge of the console. “Jamie, I think – no, I know you’re in love with me.”

Jamie drew in a deep breath, steadying himself. “Aye, I am. I’ve been trying tae tell ye for ages now.” He buried his face in his hands. “I’m no’ proud of it, I dinnae expect ye to – I’ll leave if ye don’t want me here.”

“Oh, Jamie.” The Doctor stepped closer, taking Jamie’s wrists gently and prising his hands away to look at his face. To Jamie’s surprise, he did not let go. “I didn’t want to say anything, but… well, something changed yesterday, I think.”

“Aye, it did. I realised ye knew.” The fact that the Doctor was holding his wrists was not helping, Jamie thought. “I’m sorry,” he murmured.

“Why do you think I didn’t say anything?” Jamie shrugged. The Doctor let go of one of his hands, reaching up to push his hair out of his eyes and cup his face tentatively. “I was too afraid I was wrong. I’m in love with you, too.”

The words hit Jamie like a lightning bolt. He all but flinched away from them, jerking his head up to look at the Doctor properly. “In love with me? How can ye be in love with me?”

“How could I not be?” The Doctor was smiling like he was a star, a butterfly, a new and exciting puzzle, a flying ray leaping amongst the waves under a faraway sunset, ad Jamie could not help but smile back at him. “Of course I’m in love with you.” The way he spoke made it seem so natural, so inevitable, that for a moment Jamie forgot he had ever been afraid to love him. He hesitated, suddenly bashful. “This is – ah – this is generally the point where you kiss the other person, isn’t it?”

“Aye, I think so.” Jamie dipped his head forward and kissed the Doctor before he could stop to think about it. The Doctor kissed him like his life depended on it, and his eagerness made Jamie laugh into the kiss until they had to break it. “I love ye,” he said, equally breathlessly. The freedom of saying it to the Doctor’s face was almost intoxicating. “I love ye, I love ye, I love ye!”

“I love you too.” The Doctor kissed him again, softly, and Jamie wondered if his heart might be about to give out from pure shock and joy. “Took us long enough to say it, didn’t it?”

“Aye, it did.” The Doctor was peppering little kisses all over his face, and Jamie laughed again. “It doesnae really matter, though. We’ll have plenty of chances tae get it right.”


End file.
